Samuel Little, who surpassed even deadly predators such as Ted Bundy and John Van Gassy, became the most famous serial killer in U.S. history when he was discovered for decades. He died Wednesday at a Los Angeles-area hospital, California officials said. Said. He was 80 years old.
The cause of death has not yet been determined for Mr. Little, who has been serving a life sentence in a Los Angeles County state jail since 2014 for the murder of three women in South Los Angeles in the 1980s.
There were no signs of an accident in relation to Mr. Little’s death, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Vicky Water said in an email Wednesday night. The Associated Press reports that Mr. Little had diabetes, heart trouble and other undiagnosed illnesses.
Mr Little confessed to 93 murders between 1970 and 2005, at least 50 of which have been confirmed by law enforcement officials, the FBI said. He was convicted of at least eight murders, some of which were solved using DNA analysis.
Many of Little’s victims were marginalized, young black women who were separated from their families and struggling with poverty and addiction. In many cases, his death did not draw attention or outrage like other killings.
Only in recent years has Mr. Little confessed to murder from a prison cell in California, his third term in a state prison. He said he strangled his victims, many of whose deaths were originally over-regulated or attributed to accidental or unforeseen causes, the FBI said. The information obtained by the Texas Ranger came to light after Mr. Little was confronted with a recurrence of his crimes.
Last year, the FBI formally declared Mr. Little the most notorious serial killer in U.S. history and sought the help of the public to join the dozens of murders he confessed to.
The FBI posted a series of chilling confession videos showing Mr. Little on his website, along with sketches of his victims. The agency said at the time that it believed all of its confessions were credible.
“For many years, Samuel Little believed he would not be caught because he felt no one was accounting for his victims,” said Christie Palazzolo, a crime analyst at the FBI’s Violent Criminal Assessment Program at the time. “Even though he is already in prison, the FBI believes it is important to get justice for every victim – to close every case possible.”
In one video, Mr. Little apparently got excited while discussing the murder. When asked by a detective about a woman he said he had beaten in 1994 at North Little Rock, Ark, Mr. Little replied: “Oh, man, I loved her. I forgot his name. Oh yes I think it was Ruth. ”
Prior to Mr. Little’s death, prosecutors were weighing whether he would formally charge multiple officers with multiple murders in at least 14 states as he described to officers.
According to Mr. Little’s confession, the number of murders has increased significantly compared to known serial killers.
Green Ridway, known as the Green River Killer, was convicted of 49 murders in Washington state in the 1980s and 1990s, the highest murder for an American serial killer.
Mr Bundi was involved in the killing of 36 young women before he was hanged in 1989.
Mr Gassi, who was convicted of sexually assaulting young men and boys, was killed in 1994 by lethal injection.
